The present invention relates the display of information in a communications network and more specifically to displaying the output of executing application programs in an HTML file, e.g. a Web page.
The worldwide network of computers commonly known as the xe2x80x9cInternetxe2x80x9d has seen explosive growth in the last several years. Much of this growth has been driven by the increase in popularity of the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is a collection of files written using HyperText Markup Language (HTML), commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cWeb pages.xe2x80x9d HTML files may be accessed and displayed using specialized applications known as xe2x80x9cwebxe2x80x9d browsers, which allow a user to access HTML files using a simple graphical user interface (GUI).
Servers hosting HTML files can communicate using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTP). HTTP is an application protocol that provides users access to files (which can be in different formats such as text, graphics, images, sound, video, etc.) using the HTML page description language. HTML provides basic document formatting and allows the developer to specify communication xe2x80x9clinksxe2x80x9d to other servers and files. Use of an HTML-compliant client browser involves specification of a link via a Uniform Resource Locator or xe2x80x9cURL. xe2x80x9d Upon such specification, the client makes a TCP/IP request to the server identified in the link and receives a xe2x80x9cWeb pagexe2x80x9d in return. Further, organizations can provide HTML files that are accessible from within the organization but not from the WWW. These internal networks and collections of HTML files are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cIntranets.xe2x80x9d
A file written using HTML includes xe2x80x9ctags,xe2x80x9d which indicate to a browser displaying the file when special action should be taken. For example, a tag may indicate to the browser: (1) that a graphics file should be displayed at a particular point in the document; (2) that certain text should centered, bolded, or otherwise formatted; (3) that the background of a document should be shaded or have a particular pattern; or (4) that a different HTML should be loaded in place of the HTML the browser is currently displaying.
The popularity of the World Wide Web and other HTML applications has attracted marketing and sales efforts from a broad range of companies representing a wide range of industries. As differentiation from other companies becomes increasingly difficult, many companies have attempted to overcome HTML""s inherently static nature. Also, organizations utilizing HTML files as a method of sharing information have recognized that an Intranet is a useful method for providing various users with access to more than just information. Unfortunately, HTML files are inherently static.
ActiveX objects are one attempt to provide HTML files with the ability to display executing applications. An ActiveX object is a data object which can be used with browsers that have an ActiveX interface. An obvious drawback of these objects is that if a user""s browser does not have an ActiveX interface then it cannot display the executing application. This limits the utility of ActiveX objects since a primary objective of most HTML pages is to be viewed by as many users as possible.
A programming language called JAVA also has been proposed as a way to allow executable code to be added to an HTML file. Since JAVA is a language, it does not require a specific browser interface and has a potentially broader audience. However, a JAVA program, usually called an applet, is downloaded to the client before executing. This may be problematic for clients lacking sufficient memory to download the applet and, even if the client has enough memory, requires the client to wait for the applet to download. Further, since JAVA is itself a programming language, existing applications must be rewritten in the JAVA language before they can be embedded in a Web page.
The present invention relates to a method for displaying an executing application in a displayed HTML file without requiring the application to be rewritten in a special language and without requiring the viewing user""s browser to support a specialized interface. The application executes on the server, mitigating download time and client-side memory restrictions. Further, a client may invoke execution of multiple applications for multiple pages and travel between the HTML documents without terminating any of the applications.
In one aspect, a method for displaying an executing application in an HTML page begins by receiving an input from a user which signals that the user wants execution of an application program to begin. Parameters of the window in which the application will execute are determined, and a communication channel to the applications window in the HTML page is created. The output of the application program, which is executing on a server, is displayed in the applications window via the communications channel.
In another aspect, an apparatus for displaying an executing application in an HTML page comprises a parameter handler and a network executive. The parameter handler receives parameters that are associated with an application execution window included in an HTML file. The parameter handler receives parameters from the parameter handler, causes execution of an application program on a server to begin, and displays the output of the executing application in the application execution window based on the parameters received by the network executive from the parameter handler.
In another aspect, an article of manufacture has computer-readable code means for displaying an executing application in an HTML page embodied thereon. The article of manufacture includes computer-readable code means for receiving an input from a client which signals that execution of an application program on a server should begin. The article of manufacture also includes computer-readable code means for determining the parameters of the window in which the executing application will be displayed. Also included is computer-readable code means for creating a communications channel to the HTML page using the determined parameters and computer-readable code means for displaying the output of an application executing on a server in the application window via the communications channel.
In still another aspect a system for embedding an application in an HTML page includes a server, a network executive, a parameter handler, and an HTML file. The server stores and executes application programs. The network executive sends commands to the server indicating that execution of a specific application should begin and the network executive receives output from applications executing on the server. The parameter handler receives parameters and passes them to the network executive. The HTML file includes an application window. The application window passes window parameters to the parameter handler and receives application program output from the network executive.